All OOC questions, etc should be directed to the OOC Thread. There will be NO OOC comments allowed in this thread.
SECRET IC:
SCENE: Cathedral of Notre Dame, Shaz City
Within the halls of Notre Dame Cathedral, Priests were going about their business as usual. Giving confirmation to citizens who requested it. Baptizing children in the main hall. Communion was happening within another portion of the building. They had no idea what would happen in the next twenty minutes within their holy place, but they were coming. The SWAT teams of the Imperial Police were on their way, closing the gap block by block within their armored SUV's. Checking their weapons, they loaded magazines with rubber bullets and small scale tranquilizer darts into their modified XR-08's, waiting for the right moment.
Fifteen minutes later the SUV's broke their formation as they were driving down the street and split up, heading in four direction as they made their final approach to the Cathedral. Standard police were waiting in a 1 block radius around the cathedral and closed off all street and alleys in the area to ensure that no escaping priests or nuns would attempt to get out of the area, a lock down of the neighborhood was in effect.
Four minutes later the SUV's came to a sudden halt outside of the walls of the Cathedral compound. It was here that the SWAT Teams disembarked their vehicles and began to run for the doors on each side of the building, crouching low to avoid being seen by anyone who passed close to the windows. Within seconds they were at the doors, stacked two on either side with each squad leader, or "david" as per regulations stated their designation, was with two of the team members along the side with the door handle.
"10 David this is 70 David, has the final countdown commenced?" One of them queried.
"This is 10 David to all teams, T Minus 10 seconds to breach," he replied. "Watches synchronized remotely."
The team leaders then kept an eye on their watches, waiting for it to hit zero. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Zero.
Within seconds, 8 outside doors were hit with battering rams simultaneously as SWAT Personnel stormed into the building. People within the outer rooms were stunned of this event happening at their place of worship. Many of them stayed still but some ran into the interior sections of the building to warn others of what was going on. SWAT Teams opened fire with the rubber bullets on those fleeing, knocking many of them to the ground from the impact of the bullets.
"Hands in the air!" Some of the SWAT Personnel yelled at people who remained motionless. "DO IT!" Everyone who remained motionless at first listened to the orders and put their hands on their heads. As the SWAT Team members approached them, they could be heard crying and muttering things about why was this happening to them. As the teams left the outer rooms regular Imperial Police entered and brought those cuffed outside so that they could be sorted through and processed.
It wasn't until the SWAT Teams reached the main chamber of the Cathedral that they encountered resistance. Some of the people who got out of the rooms quick enough to not get tagged with rubber bullets were making a stand here. As the teams breached the main doors to the chamber gunfire erupted from inside the room. The members of the church somehow had small arms hidden so that they could ward off attacks from outside forces. The Imperial Authority on Gun Ownership authorized this as a way so that if foreign powers invaded the Empire, civilians and church members could help defend themselves in case they were found to be targets of the invaders. They had no clue that this would be used against the police in this manner.
"10 David this is 40 David, 60 David has encountered armed resistance on the lower floor, we are moving to the upper balcony for a better vantage point, over," the team leader stated into his headset as his men ascended the stairs.
"Roger 40 David, use of non lethal force is suggested, but if it is deemed necessary, legal force is authorized," was the reply he received.
As they exited the doors on the upper balcony, they could see that the gunmen had taken up a position behind the altar and had flipped it so that they could use it as a shield. Peeking up every few minutes to take shots at the SWAT Teams on the ground level, they were vulnerable to attacks from the balcony. The SWAT Team in the balcony level dropped into a prone position and began a slow crawl across the floor of the balcony until they reached a vantage point they liked.
"This is the SWAT Teams of the Imperial Police, put your weapons down and give yourselves up!" 40 David yelled from the upper balcony to the gunmen below. He noticed that the gunmen were not priests but were protecting priests who were held up in a room with one exit just behind them to the right.
"Fuck off, pigs!" yelled one of the gunmen and he pointed his gun up at the balcony and took several shots at the SWAT Teams up there. Bullets bounced off the pew's and one member of the SWAT team was struck in the leg.
"Argh!" he yelled as he rolled towards cover. The bullet looked to go clean through, missing any vital arteries. The Team Members then decided it was the time to switch out their clips for the live ammunition. When they did that they re-set their chambers, ejecting the rubber bullets and setting the live ammunition.
"Take the shot!" yelled 40 David to one of the other SWAT team members. Pop, pop, pop. Three shots were fired down on the gunmen, striking the alter. Pop, pop. Two more shots were fired, this time striking two of the three gunmen in their shoulders, making them spin as they fell to the ground. The third got enraged and began to blind fire at the team up in the balcony. When he popped his head up to see if he hit anything the team leveled their shot. POP. Within a fraction of a second the bullet found it's target and the man dropped back, dead within an instant.
The SWAT Teams on the ground floor used this opportunity to storm into the main chamber and went slowly pew by pew until they were sure that there were no other surprises left in store for them. Approaching the room that the priests were hiding in, the lead SWAT Team stacked the door and slammed the battering ram into it, threw in a Flash Bang and then stormed into the room after it went off. After all was said and done, nearly 14 Priests, 27 Nuns, 8 Monks and 45 Civilians were arrested. Two of the gunmen were taken to an area hospital to be treated for their wounds and the last one was pronounced dead on the scene with a gunshot between the eyes.
After the incident happened the news was all over the story. According to them this wasn't the only location that was raided...
Fifteen minutes later the SUV's broke their formation as they were driving down the street and split up, heading in four direction as they made their final approach to the Cathedral. Standard police were waiting in a 1 block radius around the cathedral and closed off all street and alleys in the area to ensure that no escaping priests or nuns would attempt to get out of the area, a lock down of the neighborhood was in effect.
Four minutes later the SUV's came to a sudden halt outside of the walls of the Cathedral compound. It was here that the SWAT Teams disembarked their vehicles and began to run for the doors on each side of the building, crouching low to avoid being seen by anyone who passed close to the windows. Within seconds they were at the doors, stacked two on either side with each squad leader, or "david" as per regulations stated their designation, was with two of the team members along the side with the door handle.
"10 David this is 70 David, has the final countdown commenced?" One of them queried.
"This is 10 David to all teams, T Minus 10 seconds to breach," he replied. "Watches synchronized remotely."
The team leaders then kept an eye on their watches, waiting for it to hit zero. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Zero.
Within seconds, 8 outside doors were hit with battering rams simultaneously as SWAT Personnel stormed into the building. People within the outer rooms were stunned of this event happening at their place of worship. Many of them stayed still but some ran into the interior sections of the building to warn others of what was going on. SWAT Teams opened fire with the rubber bullets on those fleeing, knocking many of them to the ground from the impact of the bullets.
"Hands in the air!" Some of the SWAT Personnel yelled at people who remained motionless. "DO IT!" Everyone who remained motionless at first listened to the orders and put their hands on their heads. As the SWAT Team members approached them, they could be heard crying and muttering things about why was this happening to them. As the teams left the outer rooms regular Imperial Police entered and brought those cuffed outside so that they could be sorted through and processed.
It wasn't until the SWAT Teams reached the main chamber of the Cathedral that they encountered resistance. Some of the people who got out of the rooms quick enough to not get tagged with rubber bullets were making a stand here. As the teams breached the main doors to the chamber gunfire erupted from inside the room. The members of the church somehow had small arms hidden so that they could ward off attacks from outside forces. The Imperial Authority on Gun Ownership authorized this as a way so that if foreign powers invaded the Empire, civilians and church members could help defend themselves in case they were found to be targets of the invaders. They had no clue that this would be used against the police in this manner.
"10 David this is 40 David, 60 David has encountered armed resistance on the lower floor, we are moving to the upper balcony for a better vantage point, over," the team leader stated into his headset as his men ascended the stairs.
"Roger 40 David, use of non lethal force is suggested, but if it is deemed necessary, legal force is authorized," was the reply he received.
As they exited the doors on the upper balcony, they could see that the gunmen had taken up a position behind the altar and had flipped it so that they could use it as a shield. Peeking up every few minutes to take shots at the SWAT Teams on the ground level, they were vulnerable to attacks from the balcony. The SWAT Team in the balcony level dropped into a prone position and began a slow crawl across the floor of the balcony until they reached a vantage point they liked.
"This is the SWAT Teams of the Imperial Police, put your weapons down and give yourselves up!" 40 David yelled from the upper balcony to the gunmen below. He noticed that the gunmen were not priests but were protecting priests who were held up in a room with one exit just behind them to the right.
"Fuck off, pigs!" yelled one of the gunmen and he pointed his gun up at the balcony and took several shots at the SWAT Teams up there. Bullets bounced off the pew's and one member of the SWAT team was struck in the leg.
"Argh!" he yelled as he rolled towards cover. The bullet looked to go clean through, missing any vital arteries. The Team Members then decided it was the time to switch out their clips for the live ammunition. When they did that they re-set their chambers, ejecting the rubber bullets and setting the live ammunition.
"Take the shot!" yelled 40 David to one of the other SWAT team members. Pop, pop, pop. Three shots were fired down on the gunmen, striking the alter. Pop, pop. Two more shots were fired, this time striking two of the three gunmen in their shoulders, making them spin as they fell to the ground. The third got enraged and began to blind fire at the team up in the balcony. When he popped his head up to see if he hit anything the team leveled their shot. POP. Within a fraction of a second the bullet found it's target and the man dropped back, dead within an instant.
The SWAT Teams on the ground floor used this opportunity to storm into the main chamber and went slowly pew by pew until they were sure that there were no other surprises left in store for them. Approaching the room that the priests were hiding in, the lead SWAT Team stacked the door and slammed the battering ram into it, threw in a Flash Bang and then stormed into the room after it went off. After all was said and done, nearly 14 Priests, 27 Nuns, 8 Monks and 45 Civilians were arrested. Two of the gunmen were taken to an area hospital to be treated for their wounds and the last one was pronounced dead on the scene with a gunshot between the eyes.
After the incident happened the news was all over the story. According to them this wasn't the only location that was raided...
GLOBAL IC:
SCENE: Newsroom, Shazbotdom News Network
"Preliminary reports are that the SWAT Teams of the Imperial Police raided more than 14 Catholic Churches and Cathedrals throughout the Empire and her Colonies," the news anchor stated. "The Supreme Emperor called for a News Conference only 30 minutes before the incidents took place and reporters were waiting in the Main Audience Chamber of the Imperial Palace as these operations were taking place. We now take you live to Jana Takanawa, live at the Imperial Palace."
SCENE: Press Conference Room, Imperial Palace, Shaz City, Shazbotdom
"Thank you for that, Tim," the reporter started. "It is a grim scene here at the Imperial Palace as many in the News Corps are shocked to hear of these operations against one of the largest churches in the Empire. We are still waiting for the Supreme Emperor to start the News Conference and I am sure that there are many questions that are to be answered here today." She then turns her head as a gentleman walks in through a door on the stage. "Here is someone of whom I hope will give us some answers."
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the Press Corps., for joining us here today," he begins. "The Supreme Emperor is on his way down here right now to give you information on the raids that happened today throughout the Empire. He will have time for roughly 15 questions. After that he will take more if time allows but most likely will then take his leave. I ask that you keep calm during the press conference and only ask questions if, and only if, he points to you." He then steps back from the podium for a minute and puts his hand to his ear. After a minute he walks up to the podium again. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Supreme Emperor of Shazbotdom, Mr. Larry Williams."
The Imperial Anthem then begins to play as the Supreme Emperor walks out from a door on the far end of the room, taking slow steady paces towards the podium as the anthem plays out over speakers within the room. The Seal of the Empire is lowered on the back wall behind the podium and finishes it's descent moments before Larry gets to the podium. He stands there for 10 seconds as the Anthem finishes up.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press Corps and the world, it is with great sadness that the information was leaked to you recently about a spat of raids upon Houses of Worship within the Empire. Within the last hour roughly two dozen churches of the Catholic Church were raided across the Shazbotdom Empire and her Colonies. I called this press conference previous to the raids happening so that the reasoning for these raids could be given right away to the people." He clears his throat before continuing on, "Roughly a year ago it was brought to the attention of the Imperial Bureau of Investigation that acts were being done within the Catholic Church that were against the laws of the Empire, mainly those on exploitation of minors."
"Through investigations done by the IBI, it was determined that the Church was covering up sexual acts between members of the priesthood and minors to ensure that there would be no legal ramifications brought upon them. Using bribes upon the family members of the abused in exchange for their silence. Upon further investigation it was found that these bribes were from unsanctioned monies that the church was collecting that was gone unreported to the Imperial Bureau of Revenue and Taxation, making the total monies that they owed taxes on more than five times what they reported over at least the past decade," a table shows up on a screen in the corner.
"When they were confronted by these numbers, they proceeded to attempt to bribe a IBRT official to make the whole situation 'go away', as was given in the official video logs of the IBRT," he stated bluntly. "These members of the Church that were involved in the cover up of not only the abuse but also the bribery were located at the churches that were raided today. Right now members of the elite Imperial Police SWAT Teams are sorting through those that were arrested to see if any of them are identified as members of this rather large conspiracy." He looked out over the crowd, "I know that there will be many questions on this incident, but I will only have time to answer a select few. If there are any questions, please raise your hand."
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen of the Press Corps., for joining us here today," he begins. "The Supreme Emperor is on his way down here right now to give you information on the raids that happened today throughout the Empire. He will have time for roughly 15 questions. After that he will take more if time allows but most likely will then take his leave. I ask that you keep calm during the press conference and only ask questions if, and only if, he points to you." He then steps back from the podium for a minute and puts his hand to his ear. After a minute he walks up to the podium again. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Supreme Emperor of Shazbotdom, Mr. Larry Williams."
The Imperial Anthem then begins to play as the Supreme Emperor walks out from a door on the far end of the room, taking slow steady paces towards the podium as the anthem plays out over speakers within the room. The Seal of the Empire is lowered on the back wall behind the podium and finishes it's descent moments before Larry gets to the podium. He stands there for 10 seconds as the Anthem finishes up.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press Corps and the world, it is with great sadness that the information was leaked to you recently about a spat of raids upon Houses of Worship within the Empire. Within the last hour roughly two dozen churches of the Catholic Church were raided across the Shazbotdom Empire and her Colonies. I called this press conference previous to the raids happening so that the reasoning for these raids could be given right away to the people." He clears his throat before continuing on, "Roughly a year ago it was brought to the attention of the Imperial Bureau of Investigation that acts were being done within the Catholic Church that were against the laws of the Empire, mainly those on exploitation of minors."
"Through investigations done by the IBI, it was determined that the Church was covering up sexual acts between members of the priesthood and minors to ensure that there would be no legal ramifications brought upon them. Using bribes upon the family members of the abused in exchange for their silence. Upon further investigation it was found that these bribes were from unsanctioned monies that the church was collecting that was gone unreported to the Imperial Bureau of Revenue and Taxation, making the total monies that they owed taxes on more than five times what they reported over at least the past decade," a table shows up on a screen in the corner.
"When they were confronted by these numbers, they proceeded to attempt to bribe a IBRT official to make the whole situation 'go away', as was given in the official video logs of the IBRT," he stated bluntly. "These members of the Church that were involved in the cover up of not only the abuse but also the bribery were located at the churches that were raided today. Right now members of the elite Imperial Police SWAT Teams are sorting through those that were arrested to see if any of them are identified as members of this rather large conspiracy." He looked out over the crowd, "I know that there will be many questions on this incident, but I will only have time to answer a select few. If there are any questions, please raise your hand."
