Arch-Bishop in Fatal Accident(OPEN)

[Holy Marsh]

It hit his knee, and frowned. He then got out, and punched the men from the militia in the nose, as hard as he could. Lon Nol hoped that he would not perish.

OOC: How did he charge a militia officer in the nose with a blown out knee when they all have their weapons on him?

He punched one militia officer, so the other one fired five times at point blank range, the bullets being more than capable of tearing through the unarmored flesh of the criminal. A moment later, the other militia officer joined in- hard to get power behind a punch when one can't use one of his or her legs to help.

[Syvorji]

Lon Nol fell, injured. His own plan was foiled at the worst possible moment, in a shop where he was getting weapons for his communist revolution.

[Holy Marsh]

The would-be revolutionary would not live to see the hand tick anymore. He had assaulted a militia member. The Holy Marsh did not look favorably on that.
The assaulted militia member took the final shot, barrel of the AVIR pressed against the man's skull.


******************************
The Cardinal-Council arrived and started to convene in the Seradam Sanctum, deep in the mountain.

[Syvorji]

Lon Nol was severely injured, and the shot hit his ear, entering his brain, and soon, his brain ceased to work and slowly, his heart gradually slowed to a complete halt.

[Nitom]

"No, I have a signal thanks anyways." He said as he pulled out his phone and began to dial his friends. "Hey, we are goin to be late just wait for us there and we will get there when we can." He said before putting his phone back in his pocket. "Are we all done her?" He asked looking at the car.

[Holy Marsh]

"No, I have a signal thanks anyways." He said as he pulled out his phone and began to dial his friends. "Hey, we are goin to be late just wait for us there and we will get there when we can." He said before putting his phone back in his pocket. "Are we all done her?" He asked looking at the car.

"Yep. That should be all." he said as the ID was handed back to him. He then handed the ID back to the foreigners.
"Just so you know, the Shrine district is closed off. If you were planning on getting within two miles of the First Cathedral- your ID tells us you are a tourist, and that is always what they want to see- then you'll have to wait. Have a nice day, y'all." The militia captain said with a smile as the militia pulled out of the foreigner's way and went back to their posts.

[Nitom]

Seeing the militia leave he looked at his friends and said in a low wisper as to not be heard by anyone or anything. "Don't talk about the mission in the car they probily buged it." He said as he looked at the car then soon walked over and got in. "Well, they seemed nice. It's a shame that we can't go see the First Cathedral." He said as he pulled out and headed to the bar.

[Katonazag]

Kcerilan Ski Resort, Holy Marsh

Colonel Tótth received a secured message from ISOC on his encrypted satellite phone:

To: Colonel Izsák Tótth
From: Major Jenő Bencze
Subject: Critical Information

Colonel Tótth,
The Arch-Bishop is reportedly dead according to media outlets. Satellite footage corroborates a high security movement to the Shrine District, although it's actual contents cannot be confirmed at this time. Although this unfortunate chain of events has removed the primary purpose for your mission to Holy Marsh, there is one terminal objective remaining: determine if there is any evidence of Holy Warrior or other agency foul play in the death of Arch-Bishop Janice Krywenscki. A video that was broadcast on TV that purports to be the security footage of the incident has been attached.

Due to policies in place in Holy Marsh, you now have permission to break cover if deemed necessary. However, if you must do so, then do it with caution. You are to cooperate with any pursuant Holy Marsh government investigations if (with exception of the Holy Warriors) and as long as it will not compromise other agents or missions.

Also, be aware that SATCOM picked up a suspicious individual on top of a building several roofs away from the hospital, but the person was using concealment techniques, probably cammoflage, and there are no clues as to the identity or purpose of that individual. Another operative has been sent to investigate.

We will update you if further information becomes available.

//SIGNED//
Maj. Bencze

At the foot of the mountain was the entrance gate to the Kcerilan Ski Resort. Needless to say, the security had been bolstered in attempts to preempt encroachments of a mourning and/or curious public. Colonel Tótth pulled his nondescript domestically produced sedan up to the gate, which divided the public road from a private community drive. He rolled down his window and produced his ID - unlike his cover, it was his real ID. "I'm Colonel Izsák Tótth, HCSK ISOC, and I'm here to perform an official investigation into the accident on behalf of the Fegosian Union, of which Neo-Ixania is a part."



Holy Marsh City, Holy Marsh
A little earlier...

First Lieutenant Jolánka Gábor was one of several agents left behind in Holy Marsh after the humanitarian missions to the war-torn country were withdrawn. She had been part of the Security Forces attached to JAB Canyon Delta, and as with many HCSKAF Sky Raiders, serving under a fake name and rank - even her commander hadn't known in the least until she showed him the orders upon notifying him of why she wouldn't be shipping out with the unit. Although, her time there wasn't a complete lie; she really had been HCSKAF Security Forces, and she really had been Assault Trooper qualified. Everything else about her, though, had been a ruse.

Her mission was to follow one of several ranking Holy Warrior officers and report back any relevant information that she discovered in reference to evidence of their war crimes or any impending international travel. However, that had temporarily changed. She had already been in the area of the hospital, believing that her mark was probably en route there. Now, she'd received instructions via her secure satellite phone to go to a building a block and a half away and await further instructions.

When she arrived she received another message:

To: First Lieutenant Jolánka Gábor
From: Major Jenő Bencze
Subject: Critical Information

There is a suspicious person on the roof flagged by our SATCOM liaison. The Arch-Bishop is dead and we believe she is being moved under high security. If this individual has something to do with the events that have transpired, they will be relocating soon. To the best of our knowledge, there are five stairwells, two elevators, eight sets of fire escape stairs, and eight fire exits on the first floor, in addition to the main entrance in front and the loading dock in back of the building. Additionally, there are two roof accesses which are presumed to correspond to two of the internal stairwells. We will apprise you of which direction they take.

Again, the individual's status and affiliation is unknown. We do not believe that the individual has done anything actionable yet at this time. Approach with extreme caution if encountered, but try to observe and follow rather than challenge.

//SIGNED//
Maj. Bencze

[Syvorji]

These Syvorjins in the Holy Marsh were different than the ones in their homeland, they call themselves the Syvorjins from Below (Syvorjin: ฆัอนพ่รื ษพนท - Syvorjin Krom: דטהםרחןמ לרםצ), they follow a hybrid of the works of Huynma and the Marshite, they use a different script (United Script), based off the Hebrew script, and is read right to left, compared to Syvorjin which is read left to right. Syvorjin businesses stayed open. Meanwhile, the brother of Lon Nol (Syvorjin Krom: ךםמ מםך - Syvorjin: ศนื ์นส), Sindahuk Nol (Syvorjin Krom: מםך דןמגשיול - Syvorjin: ฆรืกฟ้ีา ์นส) chose to head to the First Cathedral, carrying a can of kerosene and a light, in a plan to bring communism to the Holy Marsh, to honor Lon Nol as the founder of the new communist state. First, he decided to dress an office worker, and after writing a fake ID that looked so real, in case if he was stopped, and a purse, to carry the matchbox and the can of kerosene, and soon was on his way.

[Holy Marsh]

The Shrine District was deathly silent. On most days, millions of Marshites could be found wandering the vast stretch of land that contained thousands of statues and hundreds of Churches and Shrines. However, with the death of the Arch-Bishop, the district was to be as still as her body. And so the Holy Warriors took their vigil along the district. The multitudes had gathered at local churches or down in Religious Works Districts in their neighborhoods for rallies. There was no reason to approach the Shrine District.

So when a single man walked towards the district, Holy Warrior guards took notice. There was some confusion as to why someone would disobey an order that was public, but they decided to not open fire with their highly-accurate HILARS until it was needed.
"Brother-Citizen, the Shrine District is closed off on this most solemn of days. Go to your home and pray or ask for His Mercy for Her Soul in your own way; the district is closed to all."

[Syvorji]

Sindahuk lied, "I'm a secretary, and a phone call happened, telling me I have to do some work today," and smiled.

[Holy Marsh]

Sindahuk lied, "I'm a secretary, and a phone call happened, telling me I have to do some work today," and smiled.

"Consider your work canceled on order of the State and the Holy Warriors. Return home." The oldest of the Holy Warriors, 37-year old Lieutenant Larido Kaniza, said sternly. This man was unusual- he was disobeying an order from the frakin' Holy Warriors and on a day of great public mourning. He warranted some concern.
"Bring up Tac Display. Confirm Alegro, my location." He said into his mouthpiece, his BALCOTH helmet contacting several other teams nearby. He started broadcasting out of his eye piece, in case identification was needed.

Meanwhile, the body of the criminal in the explosives storage was brought to a local hospital, where dental examination was underway as well as DNA testing in order to discover the true identity of the assailant. Results were expected within an hour.

[Syvorji]

"Well, here is your gift. That person said I must be there, so here is your gift for that," as he went to a windowsill, poured kerosene, and then took out a match and lit the kerosene and dashed out. "See you," he said and ran back to his house.

[Holy Marsh]

"Well, here is your gift. That person said I must be there, so here is your gift for that," as he went to a windowsill, poured kerosene, and then took out a match and lit the kerosene and dashed out. "See you," he said and ran back to his house.

The Holy Warriors looked at one another quizzically, the man having done nothing other than start a small fire. Still, it was considered an attack. One Holy Warrior went down to his knee, aimed down the sights of his HILAR, aimed for the man's lower back, and fired. He was a combat veteran of multiple wars and had literally spent his entire life training and fighting- a shot such as this was easy, especially seeing as how it takes time for someone to go from the ground a few feet away to a windowsill.

OOC: Syvorji, stop the teleporting.XD

[Syvorji]

Sindahuk fell quickly and was injured. He tried to get up and was dizzy he fell back down. He hoped the DNA doesn't tell that he was a twin brother of Lon Nol. He then said slowly, "The proletariat will rise up against the Theocracy," before his eyes closed. He then went unconscious, but was still breathing.

OOC: Sometimes, I don't want to describe too much, and the meaning usually changes for me when something happens to my characters.

[Holy Marsh]

Sindahuk fell quickly and was injured. He tried to get up and was dizzy he fell back down. He hoped the DNA doesn't tell that he was a twin brother of Lon Nol. He then said slowly, "The proletariat will rise up against the Theocracy," before his eyes closed. He then went unconscious, but was still breathing.

OOC: Sometimes, I don't want to describe too much, and the meaning usually changes for me when something happens to my characters.

An LY219 pulled up on the other side of the street and disgorged militia. They approached the unconscious criminal and pulled him onto the ambulance portion of the vehicle and drove off, keeping him alive as they did so.

Meanwhile, the results had come back. They knew it was Lon Nol and pulled up a report from the Anti-Marshite Activities Division. He was a well-known for his communist ramblings, something which would not cause any heartache had it not been for his calling for the destruction of the Theocracy in days gone by. Within moments, three militia squads were alerted and made their way to his place of residence.

[Syvorji]

The residence was a mansion, once a 19th century Victorian-style mansion, was transformed in the exterior as a small building, with balconies, with the words reading, "People's Palace of the Marshite Republic," in Syvorjin Krom, "פקםפךקד פשךשבק םכ איק צשרדיןאק רקפונךןב," a red, yellow and white tricolor, and balconies, and in the interior, it was changed, with a huge lobby, containing a large HDTV, benches, and such, a cafe, personal rooms on the 2nd floor, kitchens and dining rooms on the 1st, and offices on the 3rd floor. Once the Nols brought the house, when Singhja Nol led the Nol family, from when they brought the house in 1969 to when he died in 1975, it was maintained like it was, but once Lon Nol took over after a struggle with his twin brother, he transformed it into a communist flat, and had 7 children and 25 grandchildren, with his mother still living with him, along with Sindahuk, and the youngest child of the Lon Nol generation (not household leadership), Savara Nol, who was in charge. Under Lon Nol, they trained their family to follow communism and to be prepared for the communist revolution, and today, they were having a memorial service for Lon Nol, inviting all communists to their place that they knew and told them to pass the word to their fellow comrades. Soon, Savara made a speech saying, "Today, our Great Leader of the Revolution, Lon Nol has passed on after a murder by the Theocracy, which proves it is nothing more than a Stalinist regime. Sindahuk is the heir, who is not here, sadly, and that without him, the light has been extinguished but Sindahuk will light the flame," when she heard something.

[Holy Marsh]

The residence was a mansion, once a 19th century Victorian-style mansion, was transformed in the exterior as a small building, with balconies, with the words reading, "People's Palace of the Marshite Republic," in Syvorjin Krom, "פקםפךקד פשךשבק םכ איק צשרדיןאק רקפונךןב," a red, yellow and white tricolor, and balconies, and in the interior, it was changed, with a huge lobby, containing a large HDTV, benches, and such, a cafe, personal rooms on the 2nd floor, kitchens and dining rooms on the 1st, and offices on the 3rd floor. Once the Nols brought the house, when Singhja Nol led the Nol family, from when they brought the house in 1969 to when he died in 1975, it was maintained like it was, but once Lon Nol took over after a struggle with his twin brother, he transformed it into a communist flat, and had 7 children and 25 grandchildren, with his mother still living with him, along with Sindahuk, and the youngest child of the Lon Nol generation (not household leadership), Savara Nol, who was in charge. Under Lon Nol, they trained their family to follow communism and to be prepared for the communist revolution, and today, they were having a memorial service for Lon Nol, inviting all communists to their place that they knew and told them to pass the word to their fellow comrades. Soon, Savara made a speech saying, "Today, our Great Leader of the Revolution, Lon Nol has passed on after a murder by the Theocracy, which proves it is nothing more than a Stalinist regime. Sindahuk is the heir, who is not here, sadly, and that without him, the light has been extinguished but Sindahuk will light the flame," when she heard something.

OOC: How did they find out about his death? Next of kin haven't been notified.

The three squads of Militia pulled up in three LY219s. Information reaching them as they were en route pointed towards a gathering of some sort- they had learned somehow of Lon Nol's death. It had went from a potential search and seizure of documents to a possible suppression mission. Before they pulled up, another platoon of Militia were taped and were en route.

The three LY219s stopped, turning their machine guns and autocannons towards the residence as the militia poured out on the other side of the vehicle, taking defensive positions. More information from the Activities Division rolled in- the entire clan were die-hard communists. There weren't too many communists in the country, and far fewer of those would wish violence considering the Church had many socialist tendencies.

Regardless, a loud, booming voice came out of the lead LY219:
"EXIT THE HOUSEHOLD. A SEARCH AND SEIZURE HAS BEEN ISSUED. THE MILITIA WILL USE DEADLY FORCE IF REQUIRED."

[Syvorji]

They refused, and soon, Savara yelled, "MOVE, COMRADES, TO THE 2ND FLOOR!" They all quickly ran up to the 2nd floor and hid in their rooms. Everything, including disposable diapers is reused, meaning children were wearing the same diapers, after cleaning, even if wet, and soon, Savara hid in her room. Meanwhile, Savara's child, Mayda then said on the loudspeaker that can be heard outdoors, "The Proletariat are starving, and are being oppressed by your genocidal theocracy! Either surrender and let Sindahuk Nol, brother of Comrade Lon Nol, who didn't deserve to die lead, or further terrorism will happen, and it won't be pretty." The youngest person of the house, Maria, at the age of 2, granddaughter of Lon Nol and his wife, Singh Nol, was hiding with Savara, conveniently located in the middle of the house, with Maria's room beside the room of Savara, but she hid in fear, and soon, Luc, at the age of 3, Aral, at the age of 2, Bjorn at the age of 3, Tito at the age of 4, Odin at the age of 5 and Katie, at the age of 4 were hiding with Savara. The rest stayed in their rooms.

[Holy Marsh]

"Alrighty gents, I guess we got ourselves some weirdo agitators up there in that house. Deadly force is authorized. If you find children, then do not fire upon them unless they are being used as human shields. The fact these scum have chosen the day of the death of our Arch-Bishop means one thing; they are opposed to the Holy Marsh Himself. Therefore, any armed adults must be executed. Hear me?" The call went out across the militia communication line, with several acknowledgments in tow. The head LY219 moved itself in front of the gate and then crashed through it, a militia squad in tow and keeping close.

As it did so, the LY219s all fired off smoke grenades into and around the house. Twelve overall in a few seconds, with twelve more ready to go in a few seconds. Meanwhile, the militia all pulled down over their heads the VTS(Variable Targeting System), and soon peered through the smoke with ease. One of the 14.7 HMGs on the lead Ironheart swiveled at motion in the second floor. The first floor seemed silent.

"Alright, looks like they fled up to the second story. First squad, clear the first floor. Second squad, keep watch over the courtyard. Third squad will maintain control over the street. Second platoon is on their way."

Just as the Lieutenant said that, three more LY219s pulled up on the other side of the street and disgorged a platoon of militia as well. The only entrances and exits were therefore covered. The head LY219 crashed through the backside entrance much as the same as on the other side, and soon all three LY219s fired off more smoke grenades. Soon, the entire building and the area around it was bathed in a dense smoke, impenetrable beyond a few inches. Now two squads were clearing the first floor, two were covering the entrances, and two the streets around it.

In the hospital nearby, a Militia Captain watched as the staff woke up the criminal who had been shot, the two brother of the one who had been shot dead at the explosives storage. He was on his cell phone.
"Yes. I see. Number, please...okay. Can you get it dialing? Maybe we can end this without more death. Yeah, they're waking him. Start connecting me." He said as he started walking towards the man, who was only now stirring. He was strapped down and three militia guards were standing over him.

"Mr. Nol, thanks to your brother's actions as well as yours, your family and friends are about to be slaughtered. They are surrounded by militia and if you do not tell them to surrender, they will be massacred within a few minutes. I suggest you tell them to give themselves up." He said as he held the phone up to the man's ear.


Meanwhile, in the house, every phone started ringing.
*****************************************

The Arch-Bishop's body had been purified by her elderly physician. From there, her body was taken into the mountain where no outside forces had ever been. Under guard from more than three dozen Holy Warriors and CIS agents and with six Cardinals uttering prayers, she was taken into the Chamber, where every Arch-Bishop in history had been laid to rest. Put into a stone coffin, her name having been put on at the time of her election, and her years of life and death soon followed. The meticulously kept records of every action she had ever taken, for good or ill, were placed into an indentation underneath. This was followed by six separate teams of retrieval experts placing into her coffin the things she had held most cherished in her life.
One by one, the gathered offered personal prayers. Many owed her everything they had or would ever had. Many had known her from birth and knew her ascendence. Finally, the Cardinal-Commander, Arch-Bishop Regent Archeus, stood up at an ancient podium that had been carved thousands of years ago.

From there, the gathered went down on bended knee as he gave the Prayer of the Arch-Bishop. This was the honor guard, the chosen few, the best and brightest of the greatest and most righteous. Only they would ever step into where the very channels with which the Holy Marsh communicated to his faithful. The prayer continued.

**********************************
"We have just been informed that the Arch-Bishop had been laid to rest. Mark the time, 1831 Marshite Standard-"

[Syvorji]

A 22 year old man, the oldest child of Lon Nol, Sadara Nol went to the balcony and yelled, "I PERSONALLY SURRENDER IN THE NAME OF THE HOLY MARSH!" In fact, nobody was armed, and soon, almost all the grandchildren were in Savara's room, with the oldest ones staying in their rooms. The children except Sadara were also in their own rooms. However, Kiana picked up a phone. Meanwhile, Sindahuk, at a hospital began to wake up.

[Katonazag]

(OOC: Posted with permission and coordination from Holy Marsh.)

Kcerilan Ski Resort, Holy Marsh

The security officer took the ID and looked at it, before taking it over to the law enforcement that had been attached. The resort had been closed, but for another reason other than the obvious high-profile accident. The resort owner and operator had committed suicide, something that had not been broadcast to the general public.

The law enforcement officer took the ID, examined it, and with a sense of urgency went for the phone in the guard shack. He could be seen talking excitedly into the receiver through the slightly fogged glass; the shack was heated apparently.

"Now we get to find out how well they follow their own policies..." thought Colonel Tótth. If they were so inclined, things could start going very, very badly at any moment. His Diablo Tactical had a round in the chamber, and the magazine topped off. The silencer wasn't attached, as it would affect his ability to draw it quickly should the need arise. But if they chose to try and arrest him or the like, a silencer for the first few shots would be rather moot.

The law enforcement officer returned, a somewhat bemused look on his face. "You are clear to proceed, Colonel. Report to the Special Agent in Charge at the resort office for a briefing on the situation."

"Thank you, officer," replied the Colonel with a friendly wave as he put the ID back in his pocket and the car back into gear. Up the winding mountain road he drove until he finally came to the resort parking lot, already several hundred feet in elevation above the gate at the base of the great rock. As he was pulling in, there was an official looking man already waiting for him. "They don't want me to go it alone... They're suspicious of me." It wasn't surprising, but he had hoped that they'd be a pushover. If the Colonel hadn't shown up within a reasonable amount of time, no doubt the man would have raised the alarm. So much for getting things the easy way. As he got out of his car, the man started to approach him.

"Good afternoon, Colonel. I am Special Agent Kaczmarek. What can we do for you and the Union?"

Seemed polite enough. "I'm here to confirm the reports received that the Arch-Bishop was in an accident. I'd like to inspect the scene to make sure that it was indeed an accident."

"I assure you, our preliminary investigation has found no evidence of any foul play," said Agent Kaczmarek. "But, feel free to have a look at the scene for yourself. We have security footage you can view as well, which shows no suspicious activity of any kind in that area in the last 30 days, at least during computer-assisted review. Naturally, the footage will also be reviewed manually, but that will take some time.

However, the accident is only half of the reason we're still up here. The owner of the resort appears to have committed suicide shortly after security footage was leaked."

"I thought suicide was legal in Holy Marsh," remarked the Colonel.

"And you'd be correct," said Agent Kaczmarek. "But since we can't ascertain who leaked the footage, we can't be absolutely sure that this was a suicide, and not a murder made to look like a suicide. So, we gotta start turning over stones."

A forensics officer came into the room, and handed him a folded sheet of paper. "Suicide note, sir. Found it in his pocket. Handwriting matches other handwritten documents of his in the office."

Special Agent Kaczmarek opened up the note, turning it to allow the Colonel to view as well.

Most Holy Arch-Bishop,
I have failed you in a most negligent and shameful way. I should have checked the runs that you were planning to use myself before allowing you to use them. It is I who deserve to be dead, not you. Since my error has cost you your life, it is an abomination that I should remain alive myself, and do hereby take my own life in a most desperate attempt to atone for my failure to act before the Holy Marsh.

May the Most Holy Marsh have mercy upon my soul,
Rodney Mazur

Colonel Tótth peeked into the other room. An older man lay on the floor, half his head gone. From the way he lay, he looked as though he'd fallen out of the wooden chair sitting near the desk. "Which means the trail of gore should be..." The Colonel took another step, and there it was. Blood, brains, skull, hair, and a spatter pattern on the back wall, consistent with a point-blank gunshot wound from a pistol to the head. Though the impact of the kick had broken his front teeth, the entrance wound in the back of the throat was clean, with powder burns widely around the stellate hole. A revolver lay on the floor near the body - it had already been marked, photographed, cleared, and inspected. It had definitely been fired since last cleaning. It had a six-round cylinder, but only five live rounds were found with it - and one empty casing. Likewise, a box of ammunition had already been found in another drawer, and likewise processed. It had held 50 rounds of .357 Magnum HP/+P, six of which were not present inside. "A round that powerful should have..." There was a keyholed bullet hole in the wall amongst the spatter pattern, toward the top. "He was about yea tall..." At a glance, it looked right.

"I don't know who leaked the footage, Agent Kaczmarek, but I'm fairly certain this man killed himself, and quite intentionally at that," declared the Colonel. "But you no doubt have already come to that conclusion; you're just covering your bases, dotting your 'i's and crossing your 't's. I'd like to go and see the accident scene now, if you don't mind."

"That's fine," said Agent Kaczmarek, "Forensics Agent Dąbrowski here will accompany you, in the unlikely chance you find something. Of course, I don't have to tell you, if you find something, let him handle it. Chain of evidence, and whatnot."

The Colonel nodded, before seeing himself out, his Forensics Agent following in tow. It took nearly 30 minutes to get to the scene on foot, more than quadruple the amount of time it had taken the Arch-Bishop to get there from when she had started her run. Agent Dąbrowski looked nervous the whole time, which made the Colonel stay on edge. In actuality, the reason for the agent's nervousness was completely benign; he was worried that this Colonel from the infamous HCSK Intelligence and Special Operations Command was going to kill him.

When they'd arrived, he piped up, "We're here, Colonel."

Of course, he recognized it from the footage. The snow was still disturbed where the ill-fated run had begun to go horribly wrong, and worse further down. He noted as he got closer that the snow on top was a good deal harder packed than the snow lying under - an inherently dangerous combination in and of itself. Further down, where the accident had become critical, there was a patch of gravel where there must have been a rock slide before the snow had come. The composition appeared homogeneous with the rest of the rock of the mountain, and there was too much of it to have been put there intentionally in time before the snow with any foreknowledge of the Arch-Bishop's unannounced ski trip.

Colonel Tótth went back up and inspected the area at the top one more time. No evidence of any sort of trip wires or other disturbances. Nothing. No conclusion but the one he'd already been presented with: it really had been an accident. There was just no way to set something like this up with the degree of precision necessary, not to mention outright luck, and all without leaving some sort of traces behind. He looked over to Agent Dąbrowski. "I'm done here."

Naturally, it took longer to get back than it had to get there. But when he finally arrived, he told Special Agent Kaczmarek what he'd observed, and that he concurred with the official conclusion. Once he returned to his car, he got on his secure satellite phone and made a verbal report. The written one would have to wait until he got home. And by home, that meant the HCSK. He wasn't about to stay in Holy Marsh a minute longer than was necessary.

[Syvorji]

Meanwhile, a private organization, Journeyman Pictures, from Syvori decided to film about the regime in Holy Marsh, but they were actually not from Syvorji as usual, but used Syvorjins living in the Holy Marsh that worked for the company, since the city is shut down , mainly about the Militia and began filming, and then soon, on the most important road, a camera was filming the main reporter who was a Syvorjin Krom Chozik Mabal and then he said in front of the camera, "This is the Theocratic Empire of the Holy Marsh, claimed to be ruled by an Arch-Bishop, but in the past decade, the Militia rose up gradually to it's important position, and since then, could easily be described as a military with a country, instituting strict and harsh policies, enforced by police, and the Militia, and it's puppet, the Holy Warriors. The Arch-Bishop is said to rule the country, but the Militia basically has a total and absolute grip on power." They hoped once filming is done, to combine the scenes, decide which one is best and then to upload it onto Youtube.

[Holy Marsh]

(OOC: Posted with permission and coordination from Holy Marsh.)

Kcerilan Ski Resort, Holy Marsh

The security officer took the ID and looked at it, before taking it over to the law enforcement that had been attached. The resort had been closed, but for another reason other than the obvious high-profile accident. The resort owner and operator had committed suicide, something that had not been broadcast to the general public.

The law enforcement officer took the ID, examined it, and with a sense of urgency went for the phone in the guard shack. He could be seen talking excitedly into the receiver through the slightly fogged glass; the shack was heated apparently.

"Now we get to find out how well they follow their own policies..." thought Colonel Tótth. If they were so inclined, things could start going very, very badly at any moment. His Diablo Tactical had a round in the chamber, and the magazine topped off. The silencer wasn't attached, as it would affect his ability to draw it quickly should the need arise. But if they chose to try and arrest him or the like, a silencer for the first few shots would be rather moot.

The law enforcement officer returned, a somewhat bemused look on his face. "You are clear to proceed, Colonel. Report to the Special Agent in Charge at the resort office for a briefing on the situation."

"Thank you, officer," replied the Colonel with a friendly wave as he put the ID back in his pocket and the car back into gear. Up the winding mountain road he drove until he finally came to the resort parking lot, already several hundred feet in elevation above the gate at the base of the great rock. As he was pulling in, there was an official looking man already waiting for him. "They don't want me to go it alone... They're suspicious of me." It wasn't surprising, but he had hoped that they'd be a pushover. If the Colonel hadn't shown up within a reasonable amount of time, no doubt the man would have raised the alarm. So much for getting things the easy way. As he got out of his car, the man started to approach him.

"Good afternoon, Colonel. I am Special Agent Kaczmarek. What can we do for you and the Union?"

Seemed polite enough. "I'm here to confirm the reports received that the Arch-Bishop was in an accident. I'd like to inspect the scene to make sure that it was indeed an accident."

"I assure you, our preliminary investigation has found no evidence of any foul play," said Agent Kaczmarek. "But, feel free to have a look at the scene for yourself. We have security footage you can view as well, which shows no suspicious activity of any kind in that area in the last 30 days, at least during computer-assisted review. Naturally, the footage will also be reviewed manually, but that will take some time.

However, the accident is only half of the reason we're still up here. The owner of the resort appears to have committed suicide shortly after security footage was leaked."

"I thought suicide was legal in Holy Marsh," remarked the Colonel.

"And you'd be correct," said Agent Kaczmarek. "But since we can't ascertain who leaked the footage, we can't be absolutely sure that this was a suicide, and not a murder made to look like a suicide. So, we gotta start turning over stones."

A forensics officer came into the room, and handed him a folded sheet of paper. "Suicide note, sir. Found it in his pocket. Handwriting matches other handwritten documents of his in the office."

Special Agent Kaczmarek opened up the note, turning it to allow the Colonel to view as well.

Most Holy Arch-Bishop,
I have failed you in a most negligent and shameful way. I should have checked the runs that you were planning to use myself before allowing you to use them. It is I who deserve to be dead, not you. Since my error has cost you your life, it is an abomination that I should remain alive myself, and do hereby take my own life in a most desperate attempt to atone for my failure to act before the Holy Marsh.

May the Most Holy Marsh have mercy upon my soul,
Rodney Mazur

Colonel Tótth peeked into the other room. An older man lay on the floor, half his head gone. From the way he lay, he looked as though he'd fallen out of the wooden chair sitting near the desk. "Which means the trail of gore should be..." The Colonel took another step, and there it was. Blood, brains, skull, hair, and a spatter pattern on the back wall, consistent with a point-blank gunshot wound from a pistol to the head. Though the impact of the kick had broken his front teeth, the entrance wound in the back of the throat was clean, with powder burns widely around the stellate hole. A revolver lay on the floor near the body - it had already been marked, photographed, cleared, and inspected. It had definitely been fired since last cleaning. It had a six-round cylinder, but only five live rounds were found with it - and one empty casing. Likewise, a box of ammunition had already been found in another drawer, and likewise processed. It had held 50 rounds of .357 Magnum HP/+P, six of which were not present inside. "A round that powerful should have..." There was a keyholed bullet hole in the wall amongst the spatter pattern, toward the top. "He was about yea tall..." At a glance, it looked right.

"I don't know who leaked the footage, Agent Kaczmarek, but I'm fairly certain this man killed himself, and quite intentionally at that," declared the Colonel. "But you no doubt have already come to that conclusion; you're just covering your bases, dotting your 'i's and crossing your 't's. I'd like to go and see the accident scene now, if you don't mind."

"That's fine," said Agent Kaczmarek, "Forensics Agent Dąbrowski here will accompany you, in the unlikely chance you find something. Of course, I don't have to tell you, if you find something, let him handle it. Chain of evidence, and whatnot."

The Colonel nodded, before seeing himself out, his Forensics Agent following in tow. It took nearly 30 minutes to get to the scene on foot, more than quadruple the amount of time it had taken the Arch-Bishop to get there from when she had started her run. Agent Dąbrowski looked nervous the whole time, which made the Colonel stay on edge. In actuality, the reason for the agent's nervousness was completely benign; he was worried that this Colonel from the infamous HCSK Intelligence and Special Operations Command was going to kill him.

When they'd arrived, he piped up, "We're here, Colonel."

Of course, he recognized it from the footage. The snow was still disturbed where the ill-fated run had begun to go horribly wrong, and worse further down. He noted as he got closer that the snow on top was a good deal harder packed than the snow lying under - an inherently dangerous combination in and of itself. Further down, where the accident had become critical, there was a patch of gravel where there must have been a rock slide before the snow had come. The composition appeared homogeneous with the rest of the rock of the mountain, and there was too much of it to have been put there intentionally in time before the snow with any foreknowledge of the Arch-Bishop's unannounced ski trip.

Colonel Tótth went back up and inspected the area at the top one more time. No evidence of any sort of trip wires or other disturbances. Nothing. No conclusion but the one he'd already been presented with: it really had been an accident. There was just no way to set something like this up with the degree of precision necessary, not to mention outright luck, and all without leaving some sort of traces behind. He looked over to Agent Dąbrowski. "I'm done here."

Naturally, it took longer to get back than it had to get there. But when he finally arrived, he told Special Agent Kaczmarek what he'd observed, and that he concurred with the official conclusion. Once he returned to his car, he got on his secure satellite phone and made a verbal report. The written one would have to wait until he got home. And by home, that meant the HCSK. He wasn't about to stay in Holy Marsh a minute longer than was necessary.

Inquisitor Yawvyn had stayed in the shadows during the investigation. Such a horrific event demanded that the spiritual health of the area be tended to. With his four attendants, he had gone over the entire resort and made preparation for more than three dozen required prayers in order to purify the area. He had even seen the HCSK Agent as he had gone about his duty. He had read this man's profile, Marshite intelligence having tracked him from the moment he had first entered the nation. He was good at his job. That was why the Inquisitor, who had the final ruling over any decision that could impact the investigation, had given the word to allow him in.

Not that it had sat well with Kaczmarek, though he had maintained his professional manner.
"Why did we allow him in? Don't they have warrants out for the Holy Warriors?" He asked after the man had left, his voice barbed. It was true; Marshite friends in international circles had almost immediately made them aware of the so-called secret warrants.
"We do not care for their targets do not care. Do you believe this man or any of the other agents we know of would truly live if the Holy Warriors were concerned?" The one-eyed Inquisitor responded. And it was true, the Holy Warriors were not concerned in the least. The Holy Warriors' reputation alone would stop such an action from being undertaken- Marks on all of a country's leadership as well as entire intelligence community was a powerful deterrent. Then there was the general respect that most Holy Warriors had for the HCSK, having worked with them during the Civil War. It was expected that, over time, the working relationship would win out of the game of politics being played in Nova.

***************************
HOLY MARSH CITY
The Militia rounded up the occupants and soon started searching for information. It was not without success, as they found computers, documents relating to this so-called communist revolution, manifests, and other incriminating information.
Outside, Lieutenant Donnelberg saw the film crew filming and approached with another Militia member. He hated having to deal with silly things, but public relations were important.
"Hello, gentleman. Do you have the proper license to film in this area, and do you have any questions pertaining to this operation?"

*************************
Meanwhile, the Hospital where the Arch-Bishop had died soon became a dead zone. Multiple Priests and Bishops had started preparing it for purification, but there was more to be done of the non-religious variety. A helicopter in the sky, one of the fifteen Militia helicopters constantly in the air for any number of reasons, had spotted a strange figure across from the hospital. It was ascertained that he was not a threat and so he had not been killed, but the moment the Arch-Bishop had died, a decision was made to bring this figure in for questioning as to why he or she felt the need to intrude on this most delicate of moments.
Two cars had pulled up to the rear of the building and out of them, eight CIS agents luanched themselves quietly. They had moved up the building and were on the final floor when they received confirmation on where the target was and that it had yet to move.
A moment later, the CIS entered the rooftop. All eight wore dragonskin body armor and carried L45s. As they breached the rooftop, two Militia helicopters turned towards the building and blared over their loudspeakers:
"DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ENGAGE, AND NO HARM SHALL BEFALL YOU. YOU ARE WANTED FOR QUESTIONING; DO NOT RESIST."

[Katonazag]

Holy Marsh City, Holy Marsh

Lieutenant Gábor had been in a low profile location near the corner of an opposing building when the two identical government-looking cars came around the corner. She discretely ducked back into the alley, and pulled out her phone, clicking over to BMS feed. The cars went around back of the building and into the partially covered loading dock, and she used her stylus to mark them as "unknown - possible government". If they went in through the dock, they would probably hit the internal stairwells with the roof accesses. The sedans could have held up to five persons each if they packed in, so that was a possible ten unknowns inside the building, in addition to the unknown on the roof. No way she was going into the building now. Ten or eleven to one odds were not worth the modest gain of finding out who the person on the roof was. But this gave her one important clue; that whoever it is was important enough for another agency or organization to want them.

She also noted the helicopters in the area, and became suspicious that they were government, or in contact with the government. They were too high for media, and she was sure they had something to do with the two cars showing up, given the situation. Afterall, if BMS could spot the person, an astute observer from a helicopter probably could just as easily. Since they were in fact militia helicopters and lightly armed, if at all, BMS did not have positive information outside of probable model of airframe.

With no way forward toward the new objective, and no way back to the hospital now that the area surrounding it was being blighted of activity, Lt. Gábor had a choice to make. She could either try and egress from the area and resume her original mission later, or she could find a place to take temporary shelter. Choosing the latter, she moved back onto the sidewalk and a few yards into a restaurant-type establishment a few yards up. She didn't care whether it was a cafe, deli, coffee shop, 5-star restaurant, or whatever - the less time she spent on the street, the better chances she had of not being noticed. Not to mention, the canvas sidewalk overhangs would give her cover for the short trek. Once the military-enforced curfew surrounding the hospital expanded and reached that street, she would be stuck there along with any other occupants. At least this way, she wouldn't go hungry anytime soon. Maybe she'd even have a drink to pass the time.