[TWI ONLY][IC]The Nisri-Esterazian Crisis and Fallout[Open]

[Jeriga]

Montien
2-4-23
OOC

“Buggy 1 will be rounding the corner in ten seconds.”

“Check,” Miguel said back into his radio.

He scanned the street up and down, shifting nervously with his hand on his sidearm as he did. It hadn’t been two weeks since the bomb went off and killed his friend while on the same detail in nearly the same position. His wife had begged him not to take the detail and to accept the time off he was offered to grieve, but he had refused. He hadn’t been at the bombing, but he would be damn sure he was here if something happened now.

“Buggy-1 is rounding the corner.”

Miguel looked down the road to see the convoy turning onto the narrow street. It was a strange spectacle, the line of black limos fluttering with Jerigan flags. The purple, white, and gold didn’t match the black formality of the King’s limos.

As the vehicle got closer, the officers snapped to attention. The small news drone filming the convoy stopped just above him and aimed directly at him, showing him off to the whole nation.

“What in the- “

He felt it before he heard it. A searing pain in his back, the force that pushed him forwards towards the hard concrete, and horrible knock on his head as he hit the fire hydrant on the way down. Then he heard it. The loud shot, followed by more loud shots. Miguel gathered all his strength and stood.

“Will not let this happen,” he said louder than he had intended.

He charged the gunman and tackled him, wrapping his arms around the man’s arms as they fell, the gun flying out of his hand as they both fell to the floor. Once he hit it, Miguel’s face contorted in pain, the blood running in thick globs down his back. How was he even alive?

Fortunately for Miguel, the rest of the cops disarmed him and placed him under arrest. The shooter looked back at Miguel with a malicious smile, then ducked into the cruiser.

Miguel could do not but watch as the shooter was captured. The darkness at the edge of his vision was closing rapidly. His whole body seemed stiff and unresponsive as the paramedics worked him. Each breath was painful and laborious and there was soon an oxygen mask.

“What a madman”, Miguel thought. “I’m going to die to a madman.”

[Havalland]

“This is getting out of hand!” A woman dressed in a fine dress shouted.

“Duchess Victoria that is quite enough” Lord Alexander stood across from her in the council chambers, “the situation calls for calm and rational thought, if we panic-“

“Then what? Is there not atleast some cause for panic?” Lord Cromwell interrupted. “There was an assassination attempt it could be because of rising tensions!”

“It’s not been proven yet that there’s any link between these events.” Elizabeth spoke, seemingly exhausted from prior arguments, she sat back and sipped from her glass.
“We only know that there was an attempted assassin.”

“And Vacrus could be to blame, they are already hostile towards us they could try to kill Leon next or heaven forbid Elerha, we need to-“

“Put everyone on high alert we know Victoria.” Duke Samuel interrupted, puffing a cigar.
“We can’t go around kicking every suspects door in, it’s already a pain keeping the captain of the HMS Twilight from hunting down that destroyer.”

“We hesitated then too we should be glassing their shore right now!” Victoria shouts again before the figure above the second row of seats spoke.

“SILENCE!” The king of Havalland said in a stern tone. “I cannot think with this bickering… this crisis is serious and we can’t waist time with this kind of thing, my guards are the most well trained guards this side of the Mesder, and the network of intrigue in my castle is the best possibly in the western isles, NOTHING happens in my castle without me hearing about it, I will not divert the Black Wolves unit to guard myself we need them to be ready for possible sabotage missions.”

[Jeriga]

Montien Police Department Jail,
Montien, Jeriga
2-5-23

Day 1

“Sit down!”

With a hard shove, the assassin was forced onto the metal chair and his handcuffs attached to it. The man’s face was cold, straight, and unfeeling. The men who had shoved him stood behind him menacingly as a well dressed man came in with a notepad.

“Relax, Señors. This man isn’t going anywhere.” The man sat down across from the assassin and clicked a pen that he held over the pad. “Alright, my name is León Mari. I am with the Montien Police Department and I have some questions for you.”

The assassin simply blinked.

“First, what is your name, just for the record.” León looked up expectantly, but received nothing but a hateful stare. “Ok, non-compliant on name,” he said as he wrote on the pad. “How about place of residence. Do you live in Montien?” León looked up just as expectantly, but again, received no response. “Hm. I see how this is going to be.”

“He hasn’t spoken to us since he was arrested,” one of the guards offered.

León shot a distasteful look up at the guard. “Leave the room, officer.”

The guard glared back, then stormed out.

“As for you, sir,” León said to the assassin, “I am going to give you a bit of a lesson in how the police in Jeriga operate.” He leaned forward as he spoke, as if about to explain the alphabet to a child. “You were arrested by the Montien Police Department. As I am sure you know, the whole place wants you dead. You tried to assassinate our king, after all. The thing about MPD is that we are governed by a set of rules in the treatment of detainees. We don’t strike them, curse at them, speak harshly even. We simply ask you what happened and remind you of certain consequences should you not cooperate. However, it is pretty clear that you are not of Jerigan birth, so I will explain in detail what happens in a situation where a foreign actor commits a crime in our country.”

León took his pen and drew a large circle, a smaller circle inside of that one, and a smaller one inside of that one. He labeled each one, then turned the pad towards the assassin. The assassin looked down at it too.

“The MPD is here, in the small circle. We are but a municipal police force meant to keep order and provide safety and security to our citizens in Montien. The next cirle is the National Police. They do the same thing, but across all the nation. Now these guys,” he said as he moved the pen up to the largest circle, “are the Royal Guard. They take precedence over everyone in the country. If they wanted to right now, they could come take you from this room and down to the Palace or out of the city to one of their remote facilities for interrogation. And, if the Royal Guard had detained you instead of the officer you tried to kill, that is where you would be right now.” León leaned forwards and looked the assassin in the eye. “I’m gonna tell you a secret, though. You see, we have an agreement that basically says whoever gets the most cooperation is the one who keeps the prisoner. Once cooperation dries up, you’re sent up to whoever lays claim to you. Now, the bad thing for you is that the further you go up in this bubble, the less protection you have from certain enhanced interrogation techniques. The further down you go, not only do you get more protections, but you get more liberty in your cell, too.”

The assassin seemed to shuffle in his seat, as if he was becoming uncomfortable. León kept at it.

“If you just give me your name and where you are from, I can stop you from going up. It won’t be easy, of course. The Royals haven’t gotten to interrogate anyone the fun way in a long time. You’d be the first in oh, I don’t know, 50? 60 years?” León pulled the pad back and picked up the pen. “So, I’ll ask again. What is your name, prisoner?”

The assassin seemed to start to open his mouth, but then closed it.

“I remind you that the Royal Guard is waiting. If you just give me your name, they won’t take you with them. But if you don’t, well, there’s nothing I can do.”

“Kolach Nichus,” the man said through a thick accent. “Kolach Nichus.”

“Good, good!” León wrote it down quickly. “And your place of birth?”

Kolach hesitated, then meekly muttered “Vacrus.”

“Excellent, Kolach. Let me get you some food and we will get back to it after that.” León stood and walked to the door. “Just tell the guards what you want and I’ll be sure they get it to you.” He closed the door and walked out, then went into the observation room. There were several men there, most in uniform and two in suits.

“Very good, León,” a gentleman with a gruff voice in a dark suit said approvingly as he stuck out his hand. “I’m Sofronio, Minister of Defense.”

“Detective León, but you already knew that.”

Sofronio smiled. “Indeed. Interesting little briefing you gave him of our law enforcement.”

“It works. Scares the crap out of men like him.”

Sofronio nodded. “And you think he is like any other man?”

“From what I can tell, yes. I’ve dealt with countless individuals who were hired to kill someone or do something. He seems no different from them.”

Sofronio thought for a moment. “I agree. What do you think, Nathan?”

The other man in a suit nodded as well. “I agree. And I think Detective León did quite well with him. We will have the truth before long.”

“We?” León asked.

“Ah, yes, this is Nathan. He is… well he’s in intelligence.” Sofronio checked his watch. “But I’ll be leaving him here to monitor the interrogation. He’ll be in an advisory role.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll be on my way now, gentlemen. I have to meet with Reyes.”

[Jeriga]

Montien Police Department Jail,
Montien, Jeriga
2-4-23

Day 2

“We don’t need a long, drawn-out court battle,” Nathan said to the group at the small table. “We need to determine whether a link between the Vacrusian government and this Kolach Nichus man exist.”

“Why, though?” the chief asked. “We have all the evidence we need to put him in jail for life or even execute him.”

“Because this is an act of war, Chief.” Nathan sighed and put his pen down on the table, then reached over to his bag and pulled a file out. “León, do you mind closing those blinds and locking the door?”

León got up and walked to the window that looked out to the rest of the department. Officers were all busy on the phones, which hadn’t stopped ringing since the attack. He closed the blinds and walked back to the table.

“Thank you, León.” Nathan opened the file. “This is everything we know beyond what we may glean from Kolach. This is classified as top secret, but I’ve been authorized to share it with you two. It is not to leave this room except to be used in the interrogation.”

The two men nodded.

“Ok, so Kolach arrived in Jeriga from Vacrus about a month ago, just after we declared our support for Nisryn in the conflict there. He got here on a 6 month work visa and showed up to work faithfully at Valces Logistics every day. Valces is a contractor for the Bortimiar Shipyards, which handles a lot of our navy’s contracts. About a week ago, according to his phone records, he received a call from Huerna in Vacrus. On receipt of this call, he relocated to Montien and got a hotel. When the King made his next visit out, he struck.”

Nathan closed the file and folded his hands below his chin. “Gentlemen, we are not dealing with an ideologue. We are dealing with an act of war.”

“So Vacrus really went that far?” The Chief shook his head as he said it. “There’s gonna be hell to pay.”

“I assume, then, that you need some sort of proof tying him back to the Vacrusian government, then.” León said slowly. “Is there anything else you have that could help?”

“Unfortunately, León, I do not. However, I can tell you that Sofronio was impressed by you. Royal Guard techniques probably would not have produced so reliable an answer.” Nathan put the file away and walked over to the window and stared out at the same scene as the phones continued to ring outside.

"It was just a name.”

“A name and a country of origin got us all the information I showed you.” Nathan sat back down. “You’ll have a good amount of authority in there. The promises you make that produce good information will be honored if feasible."

“That’s good.”

“Yes,” Nathan smiled. “It is. Now are there any other questions? No? Good. Let’s get to it. Your friend is waiting.”

The three stood and gathered up their files. León’s mind was racing. None of it made sense. Assassinate the King? To what end? What was Vacrus doing. It didn’t matter really. He doubted Kolach knew either. All Kolach knew was who that call was from. That alone would provide all he needed.

When they go to the interview rooms, he went into the observation room and looked over Kolach. The guards were manhandling him into his seat, obscuring his face. There was a quick movement, then a grunt. The guards laughed and moved away, revealing a man dizzy from a punch, blood running from his nose. León grabbed a towel and rushed in.

“Guard, get the fuck out!” León nearly yelled it. “We do not strike them!”

The guard only smiled and walked slowly towards the door, pausing only to lean close to León. “No, you don’t strike them.”

After the man left, León handed Kolach the towel. The man hadn’t slept, it was obvious. Probably starving too. “Guard,” León said to the other Royal Guard. “Fetch us some water and one of those sandwiches from the vending machine. Here’s some money to pay for it.”

In the few minutes that the guard was gone, Kolach and León didn’t speak. They would look at each other every now and then, but not speak. León recognized what was happening here. The Royal Guard was guarding his cell, refusing sleep and food, roughing him up. Then, he came here, to a pleasant man who fed him and gave him water, gave him something to stop the bleeding. It was an old trick, but it was already starting to wear Kolach down. His face was lighter than yesterday, the wide eyes gave away the stress he was under, and he was constantly tapping his foot. Whoever this Kolach man was, he had not been trained.

The guard arrived and handed the sandwich and water to León, then walked back to the corner of the room and stood at parade rest.

“I take it you haven’t eaten. And I do apologize for that guard’s brutality. He’s a Royal Guard. I can’t control what they do until they’re in this room.”

Kolach didn’t move but seemed to understand. Instead of responding, he began to eat the sandwich. León waited politely, watching him finish the last bits. He seemed to calm. His eyes weren’t so wide. His leg stopped shaking.

“Better?” Kolach nodded. “Good. Do you mind if we get started, then?”

He sat up and looked over León, then nodded.

“Good, good.” León said as he clicked his pen. “Just a few questions and that should be it. Answer them all and I’m sure I can get you into a better condition, amigo.”

Kolach didn’t respond.

“The first one is what were your duties at Valces Logistics?”

“Clerk.”

León made mark on his pad. “Ok, good. Did you have any dealings with Bortimiar Shipyard?” Kolach nodded his head. “What was the extent of your involvement?”

“I just registered what was going in and out. Kept track of things.” Kolach seemed confused. Not once had León brought up the very reason they were talking.

“Excellent, thank you, Kolach.” León looked up. “You need anything, by the way? Food, water?” Kolach shook his head. “Good. So, about a week ago you came to Montien. Could you tell me what prompted your move?”

Kolach didn’t answer for a moment. He seemed to be trying to size León up, but unable to tell what was off. “Your King was going to be out and about.”

“Ah, yes.” León said. “I’m sure you’re quite broken up about that. I do want you to know that the officer you shot that day is alive and well. He’ll spend a good amount of time in recovery, but he’s ok.”

“And the King?”

“They’re being tight lipped on that.”

Kolach shifted in his chair and looked off to the distance, biting his lip.

“Something wrong, Kolach?”

No response.

“OK, well, how did you hear about the King’s movements?”

No Response. León was about to ask another question, but there was a knock on the door.

“Señor,” an officer said. “There’s an emergency call for you from your wife. She says it’s quite urgent.”

León’s face turned grave. “Excuse me, Kolach. I’ll have to talk to you in a moment.”

León stood and left the room. Instead of going to a phone, he went directly into he observation room. “What, Nathan? Do you not know that you don’t interrupt an interview.”

“I know that, probably better than you. But I saw something and we need to talk it over before you continue your interview. I may need some time to confirm.”

“What?”

“The way he got uncomfortable. He doesn’t know the King if is alive or dead. He needs him to be dead, though. But I don’t think for ideological reasons.”

“Why then?”

“I think they may have some collateral on him that made a man relatively unconnected with the government go out and kill the king of another nation. There’s no reason for him to hate the king or our country. He’s no ideologue and he’s received no training. No, there’s some reward or punishment for his success or failure. Give us a few hours to scour his personal life. We’ll find something.”

[Jeriga]

Montien Police Department Jail,
Montien, Jeriga
2-5-23

Day 3

León sat silently as he processed the news. It was a cruel thing for any nation to do, but it had shown to be effective. At least his intuition had been right. Kolach was just another man, driven to do what he had to do. The other men at the table seemed to be silently processing the information as well while Nathan stood expectantly by the tv with the story. Sofronio’s face was contorted in concentration behind clasped hands. Foreign Minister Reyes was leaned back, rubbing his beard in thought. No one liked this news.

“Well,” León said finally, breaking the men of their internal trances. “We know how to get our information. Do I still have the authority to make the promise and know it will be kept?”

Sofronio nodded. “Of course. It’s the obvious route. Any note we send to the Vacrusians will be an ultimatum at this point anyways.” He looked over to Reyes. “You should probably summon our allies. Things will move quickly if our answer is correct. And, regardless, an answer must be made. Once things are confirmed here, I’ll do what I can to get ready.”

Reyes nodded. “Nathan, León,” he said as he stood. “Keep me posted.”

“Of course, Minister,” Nathan shook Reyes’s hand. “We’ll let you know.” He then looked over at León. “Let’s get to work.”

With that, León stood and gathered his folders. The men walked silently to the other side of the building, both brooding in their own thoughts. The next steps were simple. Kolach’s motivations were clear, pure even. It was a thought that had to be shaken. When they reached the observation room, Nathan ducked inside. León took a breath and stepped into the interview room.

León was faced with a man that was a shell of his former self. Tired, slinking in his chair, and lighter than yesterday. There wasn’t any blood or bruises, but the mental stress was wearing him down. At least he had eaten as he had an empty coffee cup and a sandwich wrapper being taken away by a guard.

“Good morning, Kolach,” León said somberly as he sat down.

There was no response.

León looked the man over again. “It’s ok. You don’t have to talk yet.” He took a moment to put his papers down in front of him and make sure everything was there.

“Kolach, I think it is time we ended this.” Kolach looked up, surprise and fear written across his stress laden face. “I’m going to tell you everything we know about you, from the time you put in your visa application to the moment you shot our King. Then you’re going to answer one question. Does this sound fair?”

Kolach’s eyes were wider now, but he nodded.

“Good.” León flipped a page in his notepad with a simple timeline, then tore it off and placed it in front of Kolach. “On October 14th, 2022, you applied for a work visa with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You were vetted, background checked, and your stated reasons were approved. You arrived here on January 10th, 2023 and began working. Between your acceptance and your arrival, you applied for your family to come to Jeriga, but then rescinded the Application days before they were approved. Does this sound about right?”

Kolach nodded.

“So the question I have yet to ask you, Kolach, is why? Why did you come from Vacrus to Jeriga, work in what amounts to a miserable job at a logistics company, then come to Montien to shoot our King?”

Kolach simply stared at the paper.

“Well, we figured it out.” León slid a piece of paper out of his file with a series of deleted posts on his social media. “On August 14th, 2022, your wife was diagnosed with cancer. It was caught early, but you couldn’t afford the treatment. No one was willing to work with you in Vacrus and, for whatever reason, you decided the Jerigans would help you.”

Kolach didn’t move, but closed his eyes, as if preventing himself from tearing up.

“As far as we can tell, your wife started receiving the treatment in Vacrus in December 2022, and you posted your thanks to the state for helping your family in its time of need, a post that was promptly removed. So, here’s the part where I tell you what I think happened, why you came here even after she was receiving treatment.”

Kolach shifted backwards and stared past León.

“You were going to come here because we allow medical treatment to those on a work visa and their families in our medical system. You wanted to get your wife treated here and that would have been allowed. Instead, you received a visit from Vacrusian authorities that told you that your family was staying in Vacrus while your wife received free treatment. You just had to do what they told you to.”

Kolach’s lips tightened, and he was grinding his teeth. A tear was in his eye.

“They lied to you, of course. Your bank statements show several massive payments to hospitals. But the government was allowing you to get treatment, at least. You were sending reports of materials going to our shipyards, nothing of interest. But, on January 27th, you moved to Montien and on the 3rd of February, you shot King Elroy Moreno.” León took a breath. “But I don’t blame you, Kolach, because we know that Vacrus called and told you to assassinate our King. If you didn’t, or you failed, or confessed, your wife would stop receiving treatment.” He leaned forwards and lowered his voice to a sympathetic tone. “Kolach, the King is alive and is returning to the Palace today. The media will know. Vacrus will know.”

Kolach simply broke. Tears streamed down his face, carrying the dirt of 3 days with them. He began to sob and his body shook with each one. “My wife,” he said through it. “The doctors said if the treatment stopped for even a week,” he said through choking sobs, “she would die.”

León reached out and placed his hand on Kolach’s shoulder. “We won’t let her die, Kolach. We can help you. We just need to know one thing. When we know it, things will move quickly and we will work to have her brought here to be looked at by true doctors. Your children too.”

“What do you need to know? Anything.”

“I need a name.” León released his hand and pulled the phone records out of his folder. “I need to know who called you on January 27th. You tell me that, you swear by it in public and in court, to anyone who asks, and I’ll do everything in my power to get your wife out.”

Tears were still streaming down his face, but he choked back the sobs and muttered something.

“What was that?” León asked. “I couldn’t hear you.”

“Raschat Testes. Raschat Testes. Intelligence, or something. He called me, he told me what to do or else my wife would die.” He started sobbing again. “But I failed.”

León stood without a word, leaving the sobbing man behind him, and marched into the observation room. Sofronio was already on the phone and Nathan was pacing back and forth.

“Fucking good job, León,” Nathan said as León walked in. “That man, Raschat Testes, is the second in command of Vacrusian intelligence. He’s a known actor. Not only will we be able to deal with this correctly now, but we will be able to do everything we have to do.” Nathan followed León’s eyes as he watched Sofronio speaking quickly and urgently. “Things are about to move quickly. Faster than you’ve ever seen this bloated old country move. And I want you by my side throughout it.”

“By your side?”

“Yes, León. I want you to join the Royal Intelligence Bureau.” Nathan was beaming. “You’re unmarried, young, you’re an excellent interrogator, and you impressed everyone needed. We will have to train you in other ways so you don’t break like poor ole Kolach. So, do you accept?”

“Absolutely.”

[Jeriga]

People’s Daily
Montien, Jeriga
2/6/23

King Returns to Palace in Good Health After Second Assassination Attempt
2/6/23

Yesterday, the King returned to the palace as crowds cheered his return. His right arm and shoulder were bandaged, but he waved to the crowds in good spirits with his left arm. When he ascended the stairs leading to the Palace terrace, he walked, in full view of unsecured crowds, and declared his thanks for the eternal loyalty and cheer from the people of Montien. He then launched into a speech.

My loyal subjects,
Nearly a week ago, a lone individual attempted to kill me. He shot a brave officer in the back, then fired into my window. Two of his bullets struck me, but did not make it past the bone. I am in great pain, friends. However, I am as resolute to lead this country through our crisis like my fathers before me.

The man which attempted to kill me was not Jerigan, unlike the nefarious socialists that attempted to last month. No, this threat was not internal, but external. The young man was a Vacrusian agent, forcibly conscripted to carry out this heinous crime. He is secure and we are sure he was working alone.

What Vacrus has done is unacceptable, destructive, reckless, and an act of war. I have called my defense minister and foreign minister to council. We have determined that the only recourse is to convene our allies in Montien and to begin to deal with the Vacrusian problem head on.

We may be entering trying times, my friends. We will pull through stronger and more secure. There will be no one from inside or outside the Mesder who will stop us from securing our own nation.

May God be with us!

[Havalland]

Henry set down the newspaper with a sigh.
“That was intense I’m glad he’s ok.”

Henry Vosman was the newest Ambassador to Jergia and was preparing for something big, he adjusted his tie and fixed the pins on his collar, pins of the Havallish flag and Coat of arms of House Wolf.

“Relax you look great just remember what you rehearsed.”
a voice came from his laptop, on the video call was Chancellor Deckard, he spoke in a relaxed tone.

“That makes me more nervous… but thanks”
Henry sipped his water,
“Are you sure the parliament is ok with what I want to say?”

“Yes Henry, even the King approved, we know what we must do if we are to survive as a nation.”
The chancellor spoke in a serious tone, but not upset.
“You were chosen as ambassador for a reason, make us proud Henry.”

“I will old friend.” Henry then turned off the video call and gathered his papers into his briefcase.

[Nisryn]

Fafa Yulas az Mamus Utala Anum Ifinau

Alun said from above as I looked out the ship's window from the quarters. "Should we fire at a Vacrusian ship nearby, Fafa Yulas?" I responded. "Send a radio message saying 'Surrender,' and if they open fire or cause any hostility or harm, start firing, if they retreat, fire, and if they surrender, tell them to send their commander," Alun explained. "Are you sure?" I asked. "Why can't we just open fire on them?" I replied. "This is the third ship this week, we won't get anything valuable if we just continue annihilating them. Furthermore, I've been given orders to try to obtain any valuable information from approaching Vacrusian ships." "Sir, yes."

I waited a few minutes, peering through the aperture at the Vacrusian ship. I used binoculars to see them from a distance. They appeared to be up to no good, as any Vacrusian would be. I jumped from where I was and lunged out when I noticed their ammunition loading. Alun gave me a confused look and I said abruptly. "The ships are loading artillery; fire immediately!" Despite his confusion, Alun obeyed and ordered the ship to open fire. I quickly grabbed my radio and made a statement. “Lieutenant General Mamus Ifinau, to all vessels on this squadron. Enemies; burn the Vacrusian ship. Over.”, What I said was a procedure sentence that meant "Threat detected, I order you to open fire on the Vacrusian ship." It was only a few seconds before I heard "Roger that. Out ", I took another look at the Vacrusian ship; as I had predicted, they were planning to destroy as many ships as they could before we annihilated them. I took another look at our ships. We will, thankfully, defeat them because our equipment is superior, more efficient, and has a higher fire rate. The battle began, with fire from both sides beginning with ours; we had more supplies and armour, so there was no doubt that we would have won, what an idiotic endeavour from Vacrus. I heard a radiomessage, "Navy Vessel Xayc-09. 6 Enemy sailors found surrendering, how shall we proceed?" as I watch the battle continue in our favour and strategically manoeuvre my squadron. Over", I quickly reply "Lt. General Mamus Ifinau, to Xayc-09 immobilise them, then take them onto the ship and hide them until further orders. Out.” After we infiltrated the Vacrusian ship and stopped the fire, the battle continued in our favour and ended quickly. We entered the ship, it was mostly empty, aside from a few bodies we shot or treated, the ship was a pearly dull grey, we investigated, there seemed to be nobody, we went to the medical room and saw one man bandaging another, who wore more fancy clothes, I ordered my troops to threaten the man with weapons. "Do not move abruptly, or a bullet will pass through your head." With a rough, cold, and bloodthirsty voice, I said. The medic nearly collapsed from fear, but he regained his balance and raised his hands in despair, shaking, fearful of something that may or may not have been us. He moved and dropped to our knees. The injured man he was bandaging mumbled something that sounded like gibberish to me. I assumed it was a phrase from their language and continued on with the Vacrusian prisoners we had taken.

We returned to our ship after a few minutes, and I was thinking about where to put those sailors when I decided to return them to the interrogation base on Kayzzilam. "Return them to Kayzzilam; they might be useful to us." When Alun asked where we would house the prisoners, I told him.